American Idol: The final two is set...and viewers aren't happyWednesday, May 16, 2007

If you don't want to know the results of tonight's American Idol results show, do not read any further. Seriously, stop now and do not ruin it for yourself. That's right, I'm talking to you, west-coasters (and our Hawaiian friends). No matter what happened tonight, it wasn't going to be totally shocking. There was a solid rationale to be applied to any of the singers' departure, and no one had positioned themselves ahead of the others.

Again, don't read any further if you don't want to know who was eliminated tonight.

When Ryan Seacrest told America that Melinda Doolittle had received the lowest number of votes and had been eliminated from American Idol, you could hear boos from the crowd. Not only that, there was stunned silence. Blake watched from behind and, for the first time, looked awkward on stage. He seemed embarrassed at the result. Blake, although probably a very confident guy, has to know that Melinda is a much better pure singer than he is. It must have been weird to see her get the boot.

Immediately after we concluded the Live Thoughts for tonight's show, BuddyTV users wasted no time letting the world know that sending Melinda home was not the right decision. The comments are overwhelmingly pro-Melinda.

This result came about because of the vote split between Jordin and Melinda. They are far more similar to each other than either of them are to Blake (obviously). This creates a simple split if the vote. People who like contemporary guys who beat-box and arrange their own songs voted for Blake. People who like more classical, big-voiced females had to choose between Melinda and Jordin. So, in essence, Blake was likely a shoe-in for the finale, with the real competition being between Jordin and Melinda, which Melinda won.

Now, going into the finale, Jordin has to be the overwhelming favorite. Right? What do you think? Who will be crowned the new American Idol a week from today? Who should have gone home tonight? Why was Melinda sent home?